50 Years of Management Education Celebration Raises $1M

Donations Made in Honor of Anniversary Support Scholarships, Learning Facilities

LOWELL, Mass. ߝ The University of Massachusetts Lowell celebrated more than just 50 years of management education this weekend at an event that raised $1 million to expand learning facilities, fund student scholarships and meet other educational needs.

More than 400 faculty, alumni and other supporters gathered at the Campus Recreation Center to celebrate the College of Management’s growth as the leading business school in the region and hear about its leaders’ vision for the future. The evening featured a networking reception followed by a buffet dinner, presentations and musical performances by students.

Keynote speaker Robert Manning ’84, CEO, president and chief investment officer of MFS Investments and chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, spoke about the College of Management’s effect on his life and career.

“The character that I built here really gave me a competitive advantage when I went out to the business world to compete,” said Manning. “We call this place a repository of hope and opportunity. Nobody gets anywhere without someone helping them.”

Manning announced at the event that he and his wife Donna are tripling their commitment to an endowment that supports management and nursing students at the University ߝ which UMass President Jack Wilson said will be matched by the system.
“We are building this endowment because there are a lot of Rob Mannings here that need help. When I look into their eyes, I see Donna and myself,” said Manning. “This is the most rewarding thing I do in my life.”

Retired Marketing Prof. Stuart Mandell was also honored for his generous support of the College of Management over the years and for founding the first business program on campus 50 years ago.

“You are all here today because of the vision and perseverance of one man, Mr. Stuart Mandell. He had the courage and dedication to found the first business program on this campus 50 years ago ߝ not an easy task for a University that prided itself on its strong engineering and technology curriculum,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan, noting there have been more than 13,000 management graduates since then, and they represented about one-fifth of UMass Lowell’s 2008 graduating class.

Wilson noted the importance of the UMass system to the state. “We are the principal engine for economic activity outside of Route 128,” he said, adding that UMass Lowell’s College of Management is “full of promise for the next 50 years.”

Anniversary sponsors honored who donated more than $100,000 included:

Kathleen B. Allen of North Reading,’77 Accounting, former chief financial officer of Millipore Corp. Allen and Millipore have made numerous lifetime donations to the University.

Mark V. Forziati of Marblehead, ’78 Business Management, retired in January 2008 from Tudor Investments in Boston where he was a managing director and head of trading.

Richard L. Grande of Concord, ’72 Industrial Management, senior vice president at Morgan Stanley in Boston, serves on the College of Management’s Advisory Board and on the 50th Anniversary Steering Committee.

John F. Kennedy of Concord, ’70 Mathematics, president and CEO of Nova Analytics Corp., in Woburn, member of the Sciences Advisory Board in the UMass Lowell College of Arts and Sciences, the Nanotechnology executive advisory board and the College of Management 50th Anniversary Steering Committee.

Robert J. Manning of Swampscott, ’84 Business Administration, CEO, president, chief investment officer and a member of the board of directors of MFS Investment Management and chair of the UMass Board of Trustees. Manning and his wife, Donna, an oncology specialist at University Hospital in Boston and also an alum, have been generous supporters of the University.

Gary M. Mucica of North Andover, ’71 Business Administration, visiting professor and director of the College of Management’s graduate programs who spent nearly 30 years in sales and marketing management in the consumer products industry, including 18 years with The Clorox Co., and co-founded Garoway Development, a real-estate development company.

Bernard Shapiro of Lowell, ’56 Textile Engineering, retired after 34 years as a UMass Lowell professor in 1996 and continues to work as an evening supervisor in Continuing Education. Shapiro and his wife, Diana, a student support specialist in Continuing Studies, are generous lifetime donors to the University.

UMass Lowell, with a national reputation in science, engineering and technology, is committed to educating students for lifelong success in a diverse world and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health of the region. UML offers its 12,000 students more than 120 degree choices, internships, five-year combined bachelor’s to master’s programs and doctoral studies in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management, the School of Health and Environment, and the Graduate School of Education.www.uml.edu.